Giggles and Memories
by Ohappydaze
Summary: Six years since the start of high-school, Buford recalls how he ended up falling for his nerd. (Bujeet, which sounds a lot like a juice to me. Like, "Have a glass of Bujeet." Uhm, yes, anyway...)


Over the years, and in his time of growing, Buford Van Stomm noticed that he began to view things differently. Not many things, but things that would come to matter to him more than anything. A prime example being his slow realization that all this time, apparently, his brain used the word _'nerd' _as a code for '_crush._' Even after dating Baljeet through high-school, the young adult was still having problems figuring out how that happened. Just like how he was still trying to comprehend the fact that the bite-size brat inadvertently saved him from a life of loneliness and anger. There was no way to affirm that this is how Buford's life would have ended up if he hadn't accidentally confessed his feelings for the nerd on rainy school day, but the man couldn't help but wonder from time to time about where he would be if it weren't for his boyfriend. In college now, the two shared an apartment after six years of dating, and the bully found himself, more often than not, thinking about how it all began.

It started with a giggle. So many years ago, when his days were filled with wonder and awe in the backyard of the Flynn-Fletcher home, Buford often ignored the things he noticed now. Whenever he wasn't helping out with a space farm, or an indoor funhouse, Buford dedicated his time to making Baljeet's life as miserable as he could. Wedgies, noogies, wet-willies, you name it. And every time he yanked on that underwear or stuck a slimy finger in the poor boy's ear, Baljeet would always make some sort of satisfying sound. Usually it was whimpers and squeals that always left Buford feeling content with his handiwork. If the nerd _didn't _make a noise then you can be certain that the bully would continue to bombard him until he did. Sometimes it got so persistent and ruthless that Baljeet would just scream and chew Buford out. This was the best sound of all, and the most rewarding by far. Nothing in the world could top a shrill cry from Baljeet. Well, until something _did. _

They were in freshman year of highschool when it happened. As always, Buford and Baljeet walked home together after a long day of not-listening for the part of one, and studious dedication for the other. Considering that the Mathletes finally put out their schedule for the semester, Baljeet was as excited as a puppy. He chittered and chattered _all _about it the entire way back, even though he knew this would result in a wedgie from his bully. For his part, Buford couldn't care less about the boy's geeky club. He had a headache leftover from rejecting all the information that tried to make a print in his mind, and that still-high-pitched accent was only making it worse. At wit's end, Buford could feel his meaty fist balling up and his face pinch in annoyance. He was ready to let his knuckle sandwich go flying until something happened. Baljeet suddenly brightened like a lightbulb and let out a loud sound of realization, followed by a giggle.

"Oh! Silly me, I have forgotten that I am only a freshman. We do not study discrete math until college, and here I stayed up all night borrowing equations from mathematical websites!"

This giddy statement was followed by another round of giggles, more so than last time. Buford had no idea why, but his fist loosened. Usually those girly sounds made him only want to punch Baljeet even harder, so what was different about this time? Maybe it had something to do with that thing that was making him a hell of a lot hairier than he was two years ago; puberty, or whatever. Either way, he turned from physical violence just this once and instead slipped his hands in his pockets and let the nerd gush about equations. He figured he would get him for it later: A rain check that winded up lasting more than a week without notice. It didn't even occur to him that he had to keep up his bullying criteria until Phineas brought it up in passing during lunch break. All he did was congratulate Buford for his streak of kindness and the bully was woken up from whatever trance that put his inner monster to sleep. In response to Phineas's praise, he thanked him brightly and, on his way out of the cafeteria, shoved Baljeet into a trash can. To say the least, Phineas was deflated.

Everything went back to normal after that. Every day was full of its usual torments for poor Baljeet, and adrenaline-filled rushes of joy for Buford. But somehow, whenever the small boy whimpered, squawked, or cried out it wasn't as rewarding as usual. Buford, of course, only took this as a challenge. With more glee, he tried harder to make his nerd react the way he wanted. The results were beautiful...and just as unsatisfying. Buford became peeved at Baljeet; thinking that his victim was somehow playing his part incorrectly. His own bullying was _flawless; _some of his best damn work. So the fault could only land on the smaller boy's shoulders. Being the sometimes-good Samaritan he was, Buford decided to point this out Baljeet one day. During free period, he had slammed the boy into the lockers and shouted in his face that he was failing at his only job in this relationship. He was about to go on an elaborate tirade of suggestions and pointers to help enhance his _nerding, _but before he could open his mouth again Baljeet giggled nervously.

"Buford, you are not making any sense. I am being a nerd just as much as you are being a bully, am I not?"

All words flew from Buford's chest as something hit him hard and fast. Releasing the trembling boy, he grunted out a dismissive agreement before shoving his hands in his pockets and storming off again. Baljeet was left in confusion, but Buford had needed the hasty retreat to work out a new development in his otherwise uncomplicated mind. When Baljeet had giggled it had given him that sense of content that he'd been missing the past month. But it didn't make sense to the bully, so he passed it off as caused by the nerves that were riddled with the laugh and left it at that. Or, so he would have liked.

His freshman year warped after that. Buford could still remember it well; all the on-and-off bullying, the silent glaring at his shoes and wondering _why _he was suddenly losing his rough and tumble touch. The mindset that he had to step up his game lead to a severe increase of beatings for Baljeet. Sometimes it would get to the point where the nerd actually _feared _for what was going to happen next, more than simply dreading it with a roll of his eyes. Those days were dark and guilt-ridden in Buford's mind, so he tried to push them away and focus on the other side of how he handled his confusion. Despite the effort he put into trying to keep up his reputation, Buford couldn't help but sometimes forget that he _cared _about it. It wasn't infrequent when he would carry Baljeet's school bag for him, and comment dully about the amount of nerd-fuel that was kept in there. In response, Baljeet would try to explain the importance of having so much homework and how it would only help him get farther in life. Then Buford would snort and say he was content with his doomed future of working at Slushy Dawg. Baljeet would giggle and Buford would feel content, even if he wanted to deny it.

Things seemed to smooth over at first but, unfortunately, the memories got worse before they got better. Soon the moments of anger would outweigh the moments of peace. At least at this point Buford had the good sense to avoid Baljeet when he was in his worst of moods. School got harder, puberty sucked even more and even Phineas and Ferb's antics began to _annoy _him. Each day ended in a tempest of unexplained frustration and pent-up..._something. _He would even skip out on walking home with Baljeet on more than one occasion, and instead trek home with classical music blaring in his ears. Sure, it wasn't as street-cred worthy as death metal but Buford liked what he liked. And it was one Fall afternoon, closer to the end of the semester, that the hulking boy realized that he _liked _Baljeet. He wanted him as a friend, which was practically just as bad as saying that he _fell in love _with the runt, for christ's sake. They were frenemies, and if they removed one half of that, then what? Buford couldn't bully him anymore, could he? Not as badly as he had been this past year. It sounded sentimental and disgusting, so the bully set about a way to find a compromise. Maybe just more _fr _than _enemies._

On the last day of school, however, he couldn't help but do something completely and one-hundred percent _fr. _Baljeet had come to him with his fingers fiddling and his teeth worrying his lower lip. Buford was going to prompt an explanation but found that he didn't need one when he spotted the black eye. Apparently, in his days of being absent from Baljeet's side, there had been some problems popping up for the young Indian boy. Namely a sophomore who tried to bully the small boy into doing his homework for him. The black eye had been from getting slammed into a locker and for the most part wasn't even a concern for Baljeet. He was more worried about the fact that, after being attacked, the bully had stolen his school bag and his homework with it. Seeing the nerd so upset about his precious homework, Buford had let out a low sigh and simply ruffled Baljeet's curls before stomping away. At the end of the day Baljeet had his bag back, and a certain jerk would be going home with a black eye of his own.

This somehow built a bridge between the two no-longer-enemies-just-_fr_s. True, it was a wibbly-wobbly bridge with rotten planks of wood serving as the only way of crossing, but it was stronger than the tight-rope with split ends that they had before. Neither knew how it happened, but Baljeet started going over to Buford's house to study, and Buford would go to Baljeet's house to pester him into doing anything _but _studying. They started seeing movies together and going to the mall; things they did as kids, but with a much stronger undertone. Baljeet giggled all the time now; even when Buford pushed him or called him names. It didn't feel so aggressive anymore, and instead fell into the mild category of _teasing._

Then Buford unconsciously paid for both their movie tickets. There was nothing unusual about this, except for the fact that Baljeet was typically forced into paying for everything. It would have gone unnoticed if Baljeet hadn't been staring at him with such open dumbfound when Buford accepted the tickets. When the bully saw the funny look, he had instantly retracted on the defense and glared.

"_What?_"

Then Baljeet had just so nonchalantly glanced away with a smile, "Oh, nothing."

It took until they were actually sitting in the theater for Buford to understand. At that point it would have been ridiculous to suddenly demand that Baljeet repaid him, so he had just settled in his seat and accepted the fact that he had done something nice. Nowadays that was nothing new, which he had also noted with a little bit of sourness in his stomach. Buford was going soft, and he was fully aware of it. But this time it didn't result in more tantrums and brooding in his room; it just lead to him buying the tickets from then on as a way of making peace with fate. Buford was fifteen now, and admittedly he was disappointed with where he stood. At this point in his life he had expected to be a mob boss, or something. Instead he found himself constantly paying for ice cream and movie tickets for an easily excitable Indian boy who was a foot and a half shorter than him. Once or twice Buford wondered where he would be if he didn't decide to be friends with the steadily-getting-cuter Baljeet, and once or twice he realized that he couldn't even imagine it.

That was the sign that things had changed for good. School started and the rainstorms rolled in. Buford and Baljeet could be called best friends at this point, even though neither would openly say it to anyone. They kept up the attitude of bully and nerd, but it was so much different at this point. Instead of aiming for whines and yelps, Buford sought those giggles or a smile. To get things straight, Buford didn't change his tactics; not at all. All the intimidation techniques he had ever learned were still used on the smaller boy, they just had different effects. Whenever he was pushed over, Baljeet would laugh and hold out a hand to get hoisted back up again. Wedgies only got to the point where Buford's hand hovered near the back of the boy's pants before, with an insincere huff of aggravation, Baljeet would slap him away. A disgusting wet willy was the only thing that still got a cry of disbelief and a flushed-red face, but Buford only saved that for the occasion of when he wanted to see the nerd get all riled up about something other than homework.

On one rainy day, Baljeet chose to sit in the hallway for lunch. It was secluded and would have taken Buford a good bit of time if he still didn't have his GPS. Of all the things he had wanted to throw away from his past, that was certainly not one of them. When he located his nerd, he remembered this time to tuck away the device before he sat down next to the Indian boy. Baljeet was working on his assignments for the week, so Buford, bored already, had entertained himself with prodding at the boy's shoulder; trying to get a reaction. Eventually the bigger boy's mind had wandered to far off places, though his finger continued poking. Then he had shifted, unthinking, and jabbed Baljeet's neck. Feeling the tingling sensation, the teen giggled airily and had raised his hand to brush away the sensation, most likely unaware that he had company. Coming back to his senses, Buford had pulled his hand away and found himself simply staring at the Indian boy. Baljeet glanced up once, twice, and then they locked eyes. Nothing was said, and then Baljeet had poked Buford's shoulder and gone right back to studying.

Buford had grinned his crooked smile and sighed.

"I love ya, 'Jeet."

The words slipped out without a single ounce of his mind's consent. It had taken several heart beats, and then Buford had frozen up with a panicked haze filling his mind. It wasn't the unexplainable horror and humiliation that always seemed to be prominent in the shows his mom watched, but it was more like a numbness sneaked inside of him and made his blood go cold. His mind had been full of a flurry of questions, and his heart thumped in his chest as he had waited for a reaction. Baljeet had then smiled up at him.

"I love you as well, Buford."

And that was that. Baljeet had simply gone back to studying and the coldness in Buford was placed by a rush of joy and warmth. After a moment of processing, the bully had twitched a smile and raised his hand to begin poking the nerd again. From that moment on, they had become inseparable. There was never a formal announcement of their relationship; just an understanding throughout the school. Buford's friends had begun calling Baljeet his boyfriend before he even started to, and the bully simply agreed with them. However, when he was with the boyfriend in question, Buford found that the words "nerd" and "bully" worked better than any other title given to them.

Now, six years later, Buford sat on the couch of their apartment with an empty beer in his hand and a lazy smile on his face. On the floor, Baljeet was surrounded by a mess of books and loose leaf paper. His legs were kicking in the air as he scrawled away at his college homework, and he hummed his song of studying-inspiration to himself. This certain little song, of course, was by the Baljeatles. Coming out of his thoughts, Buford cracked a crooked grin when he realized what his boyfriend was up to. Leaning forward, he put the beer bottle down on the floor and made the Indian man snap out of his mathematical trance to glance up with deep brown eyes. Buford's grin turned to a playful smirk and he snapped his fingers.

"Hey, nerd. Put down that crap and c'mere before I knock ya inta next week."

Baljeet's face lightened up and he let out a quiet giggle, "That certainly does not sound very appealing."

"So c'mon, let's move it or lose it."

With a sigh that wasn't in the least bit discontent, Baljeet pushed off the carpet and rose to his feet. Stepping carefully over his books, he came towards his partner with a hand outstretched. Buford grabbed it and pulled him down with a suddenness that made the smaller man yelp; another sound that, in the right circumstance, had won slowly over Buford's heart. When he was settled on his lap, Baljeet looked expectant as his bully wrapped an arm loosely around him and leaned back.

"So, what is up?" asked the nerd with a smile. Buford chuckled and brushed through his partner's black curls.

"Y'sound like a dork when you say it like that."

"Is there any correct way to question the status of matter on things that are upwards?"

"Nah, I guess not."

"What are you thinking about?" asked Baljeet persistently.

"I'd tell ya, but the risk of soundin' sappy is too inevitable."

"I like it when you are sappy."

"'Course you would. You're practically a maple tree yourself."

"Clever. Now tell me."

"Fine. I was thinkin' about when you an' me got together."

Baljeet's smile grew in intensity if not in size, "Ah, yes. You being a nuisance to me in the hallway?"

Buford gave a nod and his boyfriend grinned widely. For a moment, everything that Buford just shifted through in his mind came flooding back in a rapid wave; forgoing all the dark patches this time to create a flow of clarity and joy. Raising a meaty hand, he poked Baljeet on the neck. The nerd giggled before he leaned forward and kissed his bully chastely on the lips.

End.

* * *

_I've found that I really like slow-build romance stories...And mature Bufords...So this was my take on a slow-build romance story featuring a mostly mature Buford. Hope you liked! And I've been having some issues with my grammar lately, so if you could drop some hints on that matter then it would be greatly appreciated :)  
_


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